


Light and Rain

by AyuOhseki



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Bath Sex, Bathing/Washing, Bubble Bath, F/F, Love Confessions, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:28:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21949591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyuOhseki/pseuds/AyuOhseki
Summary: In the midst of war, there’s little opportunity for a nice, hot bath. Dorothea is determined to at least set up the bath part. Fortunately, Petra’s available to provide heat of various kinds.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary
Comments: 2
Kudos: 74





	Light and Rain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [undauntedChampion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/undauntedChampion/gifts).



“ _Whew_ ,” Dorothea breathed as she stood up straight. The bucket she’d used to furtively carry water from the taps to the tub, which she had finally filled after twenty-something trips, made hardly a clink as she set it down carefully on the floor. While the war against the Empire had reached a temporary lull, thanks to the Kingdom and Alliance clashing head-to-head against them, that didn’t make Garreg Mach any less of a ruin—or baths any less of a luxury. If she wanted her private time, she had to earn it.

And earn it she had, in her opinion. Sneaking so much clean water, by herself, to a tub she’d cleaned, _by herself_ , that she’d have to bathe in cold because there was barely enough firewood to go around, let alone heat one woman’s bath, had earned her the right to a nice long bath. Soap: check. Scrub-brush: check. Towels: check. There was just one thing left to fetch. Then she could settle in and _soak_. Give her hair the washing it’d needed for she didn’t care to think how long.

She stuck her head out of the bathing hall, glanced left and right, eeeeeased out the door—

“Dorothea? What is it you are doing there?”

Dorothea _yelped_ , stubbing her toe on said door in the process, and whirled around. She saw no one—wait, no, that one shadow had a texture the others didn’t, and as Petra strode soundlessly out of it into the dim candlelight, she cursed herself for… well, probably no one would have noticed her there, in all fairness, and Dorothea wasn’t about to curse Petra for anything. Even if she was _way_ too skilled at sneaking up on people for anyone’s good health.

“Petra! You scared the living daylights out of me,” Dorothea breathed, pressing a hand to her chest. And, because she couldn’t help herself, not with _her_ , she gave her a warm smile. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Scared the… living daylights? It is already evening.” Petra shook her head in concern. “I am sorry. I was not meaning to give you harm. You are hurt?”

Dorothea waved a hand as she shut the door behind her, favoring her bumped foot. “Oh, it’s no big deal. It _does_ hurt, I’ll admit, but it’ll pass in a few moments.”

The concern cleared from Petra’s beautiful face like clouds parting after a storm. “I am glad to be hearing it. Is there anything I can be doing to assist you?”

“What? Oh, no, you don’t need to worry about that,” she uttered, eyes widening. “It was just an accident.”

“No, my meaning is—” Petra nodded at the door behind her. “You are being—have been coming here often today. I was seeing you carry more water than you were asked for.”

Oh, bother. “I’m flattered that you paid such close attention to me,” Dorothea said, holding back a grimace. “Well, I suppose I can tell _you…_ if you’ll keep it a secret?”

She nodded again. “Of course.”

“It’s nothing serious, really… Actually, it’s a bit embarrassingly selfish,” she went on. “I just carried some extra water here so I could… well, so I could take a nice bath.”

“Oh!” Petra’s beautiful eyes widened. She sighed and tugged a hand through her hair. A few mats here and there tugged back. “I have understanding. I, too, would be liking to take a long bath.” She paused, then smiled and leaned in. Dorothea tensed as her heart quickened. “I was helping with the gathering and the chopping of the firewood earlier. If I would be sharing my wood with you, would you be sharing your bath with me?”

“ _Petra_!” Dorothea gasped, feeling her cheeks flame. “I—I’m astonished at you!”

She blinked, expression turning puzzled. “Why? —Ah! Please do not be misunderstanding,” she added, shaking her head. “This wood is extra I was meaning to use to smoke meat for tomorrow. I was not taking it unfairly.”

“Th-that’s not what I—oh, you know what? That’s fine.” She twisted her hands through her long brown locks. If Petra didn’t think anything of sharing a bath with another woman, then who was she to deny herself an opportunity? “But don’t you need it for, well, smoking meat?”

“It is fine! I have not yet hunting… that is, hunt _ed_ the meat. As I said, it is for tomorrow.” Petra all but sparkled as she clenched a fist. “I had been making the mistake of not preparing wood for smoking before I was needing it. I shall not be making that mistake again!”

Come to think, Linhardt _had_ mentioned something about that recently. Dorothea smiled. “Well, in that case… I just need to grab a little special something real quick, so why don’t you work on getting the water warmed up in the meantime?”

“Of course! But what is it you are needing to be grabbing?”

She giggled, soul bubbling with giddy anticipation. “You’ll see soon enough!”

It didn’t take her long to hurry to her quarters, retrieve what she’d been saving, and return. By the time she had, Petra had already got the wood crackling away under the tub. It would take a while for the whole bath to heat, so she set her special something aside for the time being.

“For now, how about I brush out your hair?” she suggested. “We’ll need to undo and redo your braids.”

Petra smiled warmly at her. “Yes! I am thinking gratefully for your thoughtfulness. I shall be brushing your hair in return, then?”

Dorothea smiled back. “Sounds good!”

And so, as they waited for the water to warm, they undid Petra’s braids and teased out the mats in Dorothea’s hair. As they took turns, they chatted about lighter things—their favorite kinds of meals, their preferred types of tea, places they’d visited when they were younger, places they’d like the visit in the future… Eventually the topic wound around to Brigid and its culture and customs.

“Though I am known as a princess of Brigid, from the understanding I have, a princess of Fódlan is not being the same as a princess of Brigid,” Petra explained. “The word we have is having a different… nuance? Is that the word?”

“I think so. What you mean to say is, the meaning in Brigid is different in small ways compared to what it means in Fódlan, right?”

“Yes, that is so.” She dipped her hand in the water, then shook her head. Not warm enough yet, apparently. She ran that hand through Dorothea’s hair. “There is much more of politicking in a Fódlan princess. Speaking nicely, speaking gracefully, many kinds of diplomacy. In Brigid, it is enough to be strong as a warrior.”

“I have to say, I don’t think that’s a bad way to be.” She favored her with an affectionate smile. “It’s what makes you so honest, straightforward, and charming.”

“Ah! I have much gratitude for your kind words.” Petra smiled back. It soon faded. “That is not enough for when dealing with the countries of Fódlan. But because of that, many things have much more simpleness back home.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“For example, we do not have the valuing of Crests that this country does, so there is not as much valuing being placed on bloodlines. So there is more freedom in who one is marrying. That is a thing you have interesting… er, interest, in, yes?”

“Ooh, yes, very much so!” She leaned in. “So if you’re not as concerned with royal bloodlines and all that nonsense, what’s your main concern for finding the right partner?”

“It must be someone with strength and wisdom. We do not have the same…” Petra waved her hands in an expansive, wobbly circle. “The same… ideas? Thoughts? On what you call nobility. To be truthful, we do not have nobility at all as you would know it.”

Dorothea leaned further. “Tell me more.”

“We have towns that rule themselves, but when there is trouble, everyone bands together, and the one who is king gives the orders to everyone that everyone must obey. My father had made the decision to be waging war on Fódlan, and the results gave us understanding that Brigid is weak. Still, there are not so many big gaps between the rich and the poor. That is also why, even though I must be leading Brigid someday, I do not call myself a noble as the leaders of Fódlan are doing.”

“Amazing!” she breathed. “But I always that was because, you know… of your political position?”

“I am a hostage of Brigid’s good behavior. Yes.” Her expression turned morose, then steeled. “But it will not always be that way. I am swearing it.” She dipped her hand in the tub and brightened. “The water has becoming warm now. Shall we strip?”

“Uh—yes. Y-yes, let’s do that,” Dorothea stammered.

Petra cocked a puzzled look at her. Even so, the two of them undressed. It was hypnotizing to watch… Petra’s outfit already didn’t leave too much to the imagination, but when she removed her clothes and revealed more of her dark, beautiful skin, Dorothea couldn’t help but shiver.

“Dorothea? Are you being cold?” Petra wondered. “Do not be worrying. We shall warm soon.”

“O-oh! Yes. Right.” She saw that…! How embarrassing…

“Dorothea? Is there something on me? You are staring with great hardness,” she added, tone turning concerned.

“O-oh, it’s not like that! It’s just—well, I guess it _is_ a little like that,” she admitted. Honestly, how could she _not_ stare at a figure as utterly perfect as hers? “Even after fixing our hair, there’s bound to be dirt on us when we don’t get a chance to bathe as often as we’d like, huh?”

“That is true. Let us be doing our best to scrub the dirt off while we can.”

“Oh, one moment!” Dorothea padded over to where she’d left the bottle she’d brought; then she poured in the scant remains of its contents into the bath and swirled it all together. Before long, a haphazard city of bubbles covered the surface. She flashed Petra a grin. “Doesn’t this make bathing much more fun? It smells so nice, too!”

Petra sniffed, then nodded in wonder. “It is smelling heavenly! I have much gladness that I am able to share this with you!”

She giggled, then set the bottle aside and slipped into the tub. “I’ve been saving that for years. I’d bought it new five years ago as a new year’s gift to myself, and, well…” Her smile faded. “Once the war started, luxuries like that… dried up.”

Petra slipped in too, making appreciative noises as the bubble towers fell under and over her long, long legs. “Dried up… Yes. I think I am understanding your meaning. It would be as if this wonderful bath were to dry up before we had a chance to enjoy it.”

“Exactly,” she replied, nodding. She stretched out, her foot brushing along Petra’s hip accidentally-on-purpose. “Whew… It would’ve been better to scrub the dirt off beforehand so we could just enjoy this soak… But what can you do?”

“Indeed.” Petra scrubbed the brush into the soap, then took Dorothea’s foot into her hand. “Please, allow me,” she added with a smile.

“Oh—p-please do. That’s so kind of you,” she replied, feeling herself blush.

“I am wanting to. You have always been very kind to me.” She caressed her foot, then began to wash. “You are very kind to everyone, but you are always making me feel like I am special.”

 _That’s because you are,_ Dorothea thought, letting herself sink up to her chin into the water. Hopefully the bubbles would hide her red face. “I-I just like to do nice things for my friends.”

Petra smiled at her, oh so sweet. Her long, strong fingers stroked her ankles up and scrubbed with the brush down. “Yes. I have understanding.”

Dorothea gasped, back arching. Oh, oh, she was really letting herself enjoy this far too much. “T-tell me more about Brigid!” she babbled. “I feel like I know so little about it, even though we’ve known each other for years. Th-that’s no good if you’re going to bring me to visit in the future!”

“I have happiness to know you are still interested in my homeland,” Petra replied, smiling. “What is it you would be liking to hear?”

“U-um—how else are your princesses different from ours? I always thought of you as the ideal.”

“Yes, I am remembering. You told me once I was the kind of princess every little girl aspires to being.” Petra tilted her head. “But I have wondered longly. What did you mean by that?”

“Well, you’re… you’re strong, and brave, and—and noble, _truly_ so, in the way that your average noble isn’t…” She brushed her hair back and splashed soapy water over her face. “And kind… and—free. I could easily picture you riding astride a horse, galloping across the land, shooting down your foes with one powerful pull of the bow string … Your enemies fear you, and your people respect you, and good men climb over themselves to profess their love to you. That’s—that’s the kind of princess _I’ve_ always wanted to be,” she admitted.

“Is that not the kind of princess you have played on stage?”

“Wh-wh—you’ve seen my operas?!”

“Well, no,” she admitted. She moved to Dorothea’s other foot, massaging it for a moment before scrubbing gently. “But I was taking an interest before the war started, and I asked roundly about your operas. A singing princess with a sword… That is what I heard of many times.”

“I-it’s not the _only_ role I ever played,” Dorothea protested. “But… yes. I suppose I did live the dream for a fleeting time. On the stage.”

“It is not exactly being like that, either. To be the leader of an entire people means great responsibility. You must live for your people to ensure their happiness, while also protecting your nation. Our people perhaps did not enough of the second thing. That is why the Empire conquered us.”

Dorothea made a face. “The Empire is terrible.”

Petra blinked at her, wide-eyed. “Are you not from the Empire? It is easy to forget with the war, but…”

“It’s _because_ I’m from the Empire that I can say it’s awful. I grew up begging for scraps, you know. If Manuela hadn’t found me and brought me into the opera company, I’d still be living in squalor.” She shook her head and brushed off a few bubbles that had landed on her nose. “I can’t imagine it’s any better now. I thought maybe Edie would be better, but the first thing she did upon getting crowned Empress was declare war. And it’s always the poor who suffer first and worst during times of conflict.”

“Yes… It is unacceptable. I have no understanding of what Edelgard is thinking.” Petra shook her head. “Once I return home to Brigid, I will work with great hardness to be learning from her bad example.”

Dorothea giggled. “I’m sure you’d do a great job. You did such a lovely job washing my feet,” she teased.

Petra giggled back, her copper complexion burnishing. “I am glad you were enjoying it.”

“Now it’s my turn.” She leaned forward. “What of yours would you like for me to wash, Petra…?”

She sloshed through the water as she carefully turned around. “If you could be washing my hair, then, please?”

She held back a sigh. Of course it would be something that ordinary. She smiled anyway. “Sure.”

Twisting Petra’s hair out of the way, she cupped her hands in the warm water, then spilled several handfuls over Petra’s head. Next came the soap, applied in even strokes, layer by layer, which she then rubbed into her scalp, and topped off with a crown of bubbles from the bath. It wouldn’t do to use too much, as that would dry her hair out, but who knew when they’d have a chance like this again? More to the point, when _she_ would have a chance like this again. Petra hummed in apparent pleasure as she worked her fingers through, and it was such a nice noise, and such a nice moment. Dorothea pulled herself closer as she worked, closer, closer still, until her bare breasts nearly—but not quite—pressed on Petra’s back. This hair that brought them closer also separated them that one crucial inch…! How unfair life was!

Petra giggled softly then, breaking Dorothea from her thoughts.

“What’s the matter?” the former songstress wondered.

“Oh, it is a small thing,” she replied. “You—that is, we, and what we are doing right now—that is reminding me of two famous queens in Brigid history.”

Dorothea grinned. “What, really? Do tell!”

“These queens were very close. They ruled Brigid together with fairness and wisdom. And they spent many times together. It is said that they bathed together too, just as we are now.”

“Oh, my! Were they sisters?”

“Oh, no. They were lovers.”

Had Dorothea been drinking anything, she would have choked. As it was, she sputtered on her own breath. “L-l-lovers?! A-and—and you think we’re like them!?”

“Oh, yes. Very much so. You are like Queen Tara especially. The legends say she had the blessings of the spirits of light and rain. That is to say, she was as beautiful as a rainbow, and brought as much joy with her presence.”

Dorothea felt her face flame. Before Petra turned around and saw, she sucked in a breath and ducked under the water’s surface. Her hair floated around her face, not so much seen (as soap would get in her eyes) as sensed. So, too, did she sense the movement in the water as Petra also dove, which meant her body slipped underneath, which meant their skin slid on skin and their arms tangled and their breasts cushioned into each other—

At least when Dorothea surfaced in a rush, she could pretend she was panting because she was out of breath. Petra followed suit, her expression concerned.

“Are you being well, Dorothea?” she wondered. “You are seeming nervous…”

“O-oh, it’s just—” She laughed awkwardly. The memory of Petra’s body, warm and slick on hers, made her tingle. “Your talk about those queens made me remember a longtime dream of mine…”

Water sloshed around them as Petra drew close. “Tell me.”

She made a show of clearing her throat. “Oh, you basically already know all about those boys I dated back in the day, trying to find a good man who’d treat me right. Basically, I always wanted to get swept off my feet by someone wonderful and rich, who’d take me to a beautiful land and make me their princess…” She giggled out of nerves. “Isn’t that silly?”

“Swept off your… Ah. I am understanding your meaning. That is to pick up your lover and carry them in your arms, yes?”

“Well—yes, more or less…”

“Well then…”

She leaned in. Before Dorothea could even think of a response, let alone a reaction, Petra’s soft lips pressed on her own. She froze up for an instant, and then melted, kissing her back deeper and deeper as their hands clutched each other’s backs and hips. When they broke apart, Dorothea didn’t need to pretend her panting was anything other than what it was.

Petra smiled at her, gentle and warm. “You reaffirmed before that you would come with me to Brigid. May I instead be sweeping you off your feet to there?”

Dorothea’s vision blurred. “I—yes. I would love that. I love you.”

Petra leaned in again. “I love you also.”

There was no need for words after that. The glide of her hands along her thighs and embracing her waist was more than enough. Their tongues danced with each other, and their breasts pressed against each other, a softness more delicious than any delicacy. Their respective fingertips traced along their hips, and as they held each other close, those fingertips sought the clefts between their legs… Petra moaned in her native language, and Dorothea sang.

At the end of it all, they oozed bonelessly against each other, enjoying the heat of the water and each other’s bodies. In silence, hands clasped, they helped each other out of the bath, putting out the fire, putting away their clothes and goods, rinsing off with the final bucket of water, yelping in the cold.

“Are you feeling well, Dorothea?” Petra finally wondered, voice low and husky, as she wrapped a towel around herself.

“More than well. Exquisite,” she breathed back, letting Petra then drape a towel around her and tie it at her chest. “I’m ready to pick up where we left off under the covers back in my room… or maybe yours…?”

She smiled and leaned in to touch her forehead to Dorothea’s. “Allow me to show you how I will sweep you off your feet to Brigid.”

She giggled and let her nose brush against Petra’s. “That sounds lovely. Please do—oh!!”

As Dorothea spoke, Petra knelt and scooped Dorothea up at the knees and back, then rose with her in a princess carry. Dorothea kicked one leg in delight and wrapped her arms around Petra’s shoulders.

“I didn’t think you meant that literally! But I’m not unhappy about it,” she added, grinning.

Petra nuzzled her. “I will be giving you many things to not be unhappy about tonight.”

She laughed in delight and returned the gesture. “Oh, my…! I already can’t wait!”

“Then let us go, my future Queen.”

Dorothea kissed her. “I’ll go wherever you take me.”

Together they giggled and left for hotter spaces.


End file.
